Tour de France: Yorkshire to host start of 2014 race - BBC Sport BBC Sport Tour de France: Yorkshire to host start of 2014 race 14 Dec 2012 Media playback is not supported on this device Yorkshire to host start of Tour De France Leeds will host the start of the 2014 Tour de France. The Tour heads through Yorkshire on 5 and 6 July, before moving south for a third stage, finishing in London. The race last visited the UK in 2007, when London hosted a prologue ahead of a road stage from the capital to Canterbury, attracting two-million spectators. How did Yorkshire win Tour bid? Not long ago the idea Yorkshire could host the Tour de France may have seemed fanciful in the extreme. The region faced serious international competition from the likes of Barcelona, Berlin, Venice and Scotland. So how did Yorkshire persuade the French to bring the Tour to the north of England? Much of the credit must go to the tourism body Welcome To Yorkshire. Among the many tactics they employed to sway the tour's organisers in favour of Yorkshire was a stunning promotional film highlighting the dramatic Yorkshire landscape.

Yorkshire beat off the challenge of bids from Florence and Edinburgh to host the prestigious event. However, Edinburgh remains in the running to host the Grand Depart at a future date. It will be the fourth time the Tour has visited Britain after previous visits in 1974 and 1994. Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, hosted the 2010 Grand Depart, while the 2012 race started in Liege in Belgium and next year's 100th race will begin in Corsica. Full details of the route will be announced at a news conference in Leeds and Paris on 17 January. Leeds will host a festival of cycling and the arts to coincide with the arrival of the Tour. British Cycling president Brian Cookson said: "Like every other cycling fan, I am thrilled the world's biggest bike race is coming back to this country. "The huge numbers who turned out to support the 2007 Grand Depart and the London 2012 road races show the passion we have for cycling.

Media playback is not supported on this device Boycott confused by Tour in Yorkshire "I'm sure Yorkshire will give the 2014 Tour de France a welcome which will stand out in the race's rich history." Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the agency behind the county's bid, said: "Today is a proud day for everyone involved in the bid and the county as a whole. "We are honoured that the race organisers have selected Yorkshire to be the host location of the 2014 Grand Depart. "It will mean that, less than two years after hosting the Olympics, the British public can look forward to another of the world's biggest sporting events coming to the country. "I am in no doubt they will come to Yorkshire in their millions, lining the length and breadth of the route to cheer on the champions of world cycling and our home grown British heroes." Media playback is not supported on this device Yorkshire 'delighted' to host Le Tour Race director Christian Prudhomme added: "Since the resounding success of the Grand Depart in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom.

"Bradley Wiggins's historic victory last July and the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned." Tour de France 2014: stage-by-stage guide, from Leeds to Paris | Sport | The Guardian Tour de France 2014 Tour de France 2014: stage-by-stage guide, from Leeds to Paris The Tour de France features 22 teams racing over 21 stages for 3,656 kilometres as they chase the yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome head up the Col du Tourmalet during the 2012 Tour de France. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images Monday 30 June 2014 10.56 EDT First published on Friday 27 June 2014 09.17 EDT Stage 1: Saturday 5 July Leeds-Harrogate, 190.5km As in 2013, a simple road race stage starts the Tour rather than a prologue time trial.

Buttertubs and Gritton Moor would test a club cyclist but by the standards of the Tour this is relatively flat, with a few long drags over the moors, but not enough to split the bunch, although rain and wind could make life unpleasant if the British summer is in Wimbledon form. The script is for a bunch sprint won by Mark Cavendish in his mother’s home town, but Marcel Kittel could well get in his way as he did several times in 2013 and another German, André Greipel will be in the mix as well. Stage 2: Sunday 6 July York-Sheffield, 201km This is far more serious. The Tour won’t be won in Steel City but one of the favourites could lose it here, as the series of short steep climbs and some abrupt, narrow and very technical descents – equally difficult, particularly if the roads are wet – will make for a demanding finale, where a crash or a puncture could be very costly. If there is a decent breeze it could all kick off on Holme Moss, 57km out, while the last climb up Jenkin Road is a steep little monster.

It’s made for a specialist in “punchy” repeated climbs, like Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde of Spain. Stage 3: Monday 7 July Cambridge-London, 155km Relatively short and definitely flat, with not one rated climb en route through Essex, but scenic villages aplenty like Finchingfield and Radwinter before the lengthy run-in past the Olympic park and across the capital to the Mall, replicating the finish of the 2012 Games road race. That was a bitter defeat for Cavendish, and he and his lead-out train face another battle with Kittel, Greipel and their team-mates. The fight between Cav and the up-and-coming German was a highlight of 2013; Kittel clearly had the upper hand and the Manxman will be out to make amends for his series of defeats. Stage 4: Tuesday 8 July Le Touquet-Lille, 163.5km Another short, flat stage earmarked for the sprinters. Cavendish and Kittel again, for sure, but there is also a new generation of French fast men who will be worth watching.

Arnaud Démare is under pressure to impress having ousted fdj.fr team-mate Nacer Bouhanni, multiple Giro d’Italia stage winner, after a dispute within the team. The decision will not look too clever if Démare disappoints. The joker in the pack is Bryan Coquard, like Cavendish a top track cyclist turned road sprinter, and like the Briton a small nippy racer who relies on leg speed and positioning in the pack rather than sheer power. Stage 5: Wednesday 9 July Ypres-Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, 155.5km Like Sheffield, the Tour can easily be lost here, with nine of the celebrated cobbled sections that figure in Paris-Roubaix, the most coveted one-day race in cycling. The Tour hasn’t included this much of the cobbles since the 1980s; last time they featured in 2010, Lance Armstrong and Fränk Schleck were among the victims.

The dangers are multiple: the pave sections are narrow and the poor surface makes falling or puncturing highly likely, and the continual crashes and punctures mean that team cars may not be in attendance because they tend to get held up. That means it’s vital to have not just the leader, but several riders alongside him at the front. That in turn makes for a hectic battle to get the best position at the head of the peloton before the sections begin; it’s like the run-in to a bunch sprint, so on some occasions – as with Iban Mayo in 2004 – a favourite’s Tour can end due to a crash before the cobbles have even begun. The first section, 68.5km from the finish, is Carrefour de l’Arbre, the key zone in the finale of Paris-Roubaix, so the jostling will start at least 15km before they get there. The only Tour winner of recent years to take on Roubaix is Bradley Wiggins, but in practice anything can happen and probably will.

Stage 6: Thursday 10 July Arras-Reims, 194km Back to the routine stuff, and after Ypres, the start is in another town that evokes the Great War. The script is well known: a breakaway group that is given a bit of a lead but is reeled in before for the finish, followed by a hectic last 10km. The finishing straight in Reims is slightly uphill, but the fast men will gobble it up. The only possible catch could be the wind. If it blows from the side and if there are tired legs and battered bodies after the stage over the cobbles, an enterprising team could try to spring a surprise as Cavendish’s Omega-Pharma did en route to St Amand-Montrond in 2013. Stage 7: Friday 11 July Épernay-Nancy, 234.5km Up to the late 1980s almost every stage on the Tour was this length; nowadays six hours in the saddle seems like an aberration.

The distance may tell, as will the fact that this marathon comes a week into the race and there are a couple of stiff little hills in the finale. That is propitious for a late attack – or for one sprinters’ team to try to burn off a rival who can’t climb quite as well – but it’s still hard to see beyond a bunch sprint led by Cavendish, Kittel, Démare and company, because after today the sprinters will be out of the picture until Stage 19. Stage 8: Saturday 12 July Tomblaine-Gérardmer La Mauselaine, 161km It’s all about the final 20km, with three climbs including a stiff little pull up to the finish which should see the emergence of a select group of favourites, although the time gaps won’t be huge. It’s an intriguing stage, as the yellow jersey might well be up for grabs as well and that could affect the tactics late on in the stage.

The first climb, Croix des Moinats, is a steady drag, but the second, Grosse-Pierre, is the toughest of the Tour so far – steep and narrow, not long, but long enough to whittle the pack down. As in Sheffield it’s a finish for Valverde, or Froome – or Alberto Contador. Stage 9: Sunday 13 July Gérardmer La Mauselaine- Mulhouse, 170km A more typical stage through the Vosges this, with the Col de la Schlucht climbed from the start to split things up as an early breakaway forms, and then constant climbing and descending. The finish is some way from the top of the last big climb, the Markstein, so that could well mean the favourites are content merely to keep tabs on each other while some lesser lights who can climb get the green light to go for the stage and the mountains jersey – given the small volume of climbing in the Alps, a big points haul here will help anyone looking to win the polka-dots in Paris.

Stage 10: Monday 14 July Mulhouse-La Planche des Belles Filles, 161.5km The toughest of the three Vosges stages, with the same finish where Bradley Wiggins took the yellow jersey in 2012. The finish order on the desperately steep climb to this one-café ski station will create the hierarchy at least as far as the Pyrenees and possibly all the way to Paris. However, the run-in is very different from 2012 as the “Plank” is immediately preceded by the Cote de la Chevraire, a narrow climb 3.2km long with the final passage approaching 20% on very tight hairpins. Froome will be among the favourites for the stage win along with Contador and Valverde. Stage 11: Wednesday 16 July Besançon-Oyonnax, 187.5km A hilly finale with a rash of third-category climbs in the final 50km means this is hard to predict.

It could end up as a classic sprint stage, but is more likely to see either a breakaway last all the way to the finish – depending on who is interested in the various classifications after the three days in the Vosges – or possibly a bunch sprint where some of the less proficient climbers have been burned off by some concerted work from teams such as Cannondale, who might well be eying this one up for Peter Sagan, and could therefore look to dislodge the likes of Kittel and Cavendish. Stage 12: Thursday 17 July Bourg-en-Bresse- Saint Étienne, 185.5km This stage into the former capital of the French bike industry isn’t quite as hilly as the day before, so is more likely to see the sprinters such as Cavendish, Kittel, Greipel and Démare fighting it out. There are two pure sprint stages in the Tour’s second week, so they won’t want to miss out on this one.

Kittel’s four stages last year to Cavendish’s one suggested that the German has taken over from the Manxman as the fastest finisher on the circuit, and it should be clear by this point in the race whether Cavendish has regained the edge or is still playing catch-up. Stage 13: Friday 18 July Saint Étienne-Chamrousse, 197.5km An intriguing stage where the likely scenario is for an escape to go clear early on while the favourites wait for the race to take shape on the penultimate climb, the little-known Col de Palaquit. This is steep, with five of its 10 kilometres at over 10%, and will whittle down the field before the finish. It’s a long ascent, where Lance Armstrong won a time trial on the Tour’s last visit. It’s the first really full-blooded mountain top finish of the Tour, so one for Froome or Contador – unless an escape with the likes of Pierre Rolland goes all the way – and it will show precisely who is going for the podium.

Stage 14: Saturday 19 July Grenoble-Risoul, 177km The only genuine Alpine stage of the Tour features one of the classic ascents, the Col de l’Izoard, a col which has more history than most thanks to the likes of Fausto Coppi and Bernard Thévenet. It comes before an uphill finish which is new to the Tour, at Risoul. The Izoard and the earlier Col du Lautaret offer a wealth of points for the polka-dot jersey, meaning the climbers will come out to play early on, while Froome and company will hold fire until the climb to the finish. A classic stage for a mountain breakaway specialist: Thomas Voeckler, or perhaps Rolland. Stage 15: Sunday 20 July Tallard-Nîmes, 222km Cruelly, the organisers follow one of the hardest mountain stages with one of the longest flat stages, and one where the riders will bake in the heat of the Midi. The lack of climbing suggests this is yet another for Cavendish, Kittel and any of the other sprinters that have managed to make it through the previous 14 gruelling stages.

But this area has a history of slightly freak results. If the mistral gets blowing, a Tour peloton can be split to bits, and if a break goes coming out of the Alps, the sprinters’ teams don’t always have the legs to control it at this stage of the Tour. Stage 16: Tuesday 22 July Carcassonne-Bagnères, de Luchon 237.5km The Tour’s longest stage and not one typical of the Pyrenees with a protracted run-in to the mountains before three climbs culminating in the Port de Balès. For Froome or Contador or whoever is leading, it’s a day for controlling events, and trying to avoid a repetition of the derailed-chain episode on the Balès which lost Andy Schleck the 2010 Tour (until it was given back to him after Contador’s positive test for clenbuterol). An early break should dominate this stage which is made for a climber who can get in the move, get clear on the last climb, then stay away on the final descent, as Dan Martin did last year.

Stage 17: Wednesday 23 July St Gaudens-St Lary Pla d’Adet, 124.5km A short mountain stage of the kind Christian Prudhomme likes to throw in to ensure action from the gun. Three first-category mountains – typical short, sharp Pyrenean climbs – plus the hors-categorie ascent to one of the toughest finishes in the Pyrenees, should see the top men in the standings fighting out the stage win. St Lary is unremittingly steep so Froome and Contador will be in the mix for sure, also perhaps French starlet Thibaut Pinot, for whom the Tour will be a massive test after his flop last year. The stamina of old stagers such as Valverde could well come into play. Stage 18: Thursday 24 July Pau-Hautacam, 145.5km This only gets truly serious in the final 70km with the Col du Tourmalet followed by the finish at Hautacam, 20 years after Miguel Indurain ripped the Tour to shreds on the 13km climb to the bleak ski station.

Hautacam is longer but not quite as steep as Pla d’Adet, and favours a more powerful rider over a pure climber. Lance Armstrong clinched the 2000 Tour here, although the organisers won’t want to be reminded of that now. Expect the same riders as on the previous day to be in the mix, with every climber well aware that this is the last chance to gain any time before the long time trial on the penultimate day. Stage 19: Friday 25 July Maubourguet-Bergerac, 208.5km Classic “transition” stage designed to get the race to the time trial start. It’s not super-demanding, and will be a final battle between teams which haven’t won a stage and don’t have a sprinter – and thus need to get in the day’s escape and make it stick – and any sprinters’ teams which have some strength left in their legs. In recent years this kind of stage has tended to go the way of the sprinters, so the smart money should be on whoever is left standing of Kittel, Cavendish, Greipel, Cocquard, and perhaps Démare.

The overall contenders will hide to save their energy for the last big test. Stage 20: Saturday 26 July Bergerac-Périgueux, 54km time trial Time was, the Tour would have three individual stages against the watch; this year, in the interests of open racing, this is the only one. Should be a stage of two halves, a race for the stage win between whichever specialists have hauled themselves all the way from Leeds just for this – Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin are the names that spring to mind – and a battle for the podium. The only rider who can feature in both is Froome, and if he’s in the box seat he will be looking for the stage win. If he’s behind Contador or any other climber, this will be a dramatic showdown. Stage 21: Sunday 27 July Évry-Paris Champs Élysées, 137.5km Last year’s final stage was historic, as it ended at sunset; this year’s makes history for a different reason. For the first time since 1988, the final day of the Tour will also feature a women’s event, La Course by Le Tour.

It’s a major development for women’s cycling, and for the Paris crowd it’s a chance to watch the likes of Marianne Vos, arguably the best all-round cyclist on the planet at the moment, and the clear favourite for La Course. The men’s stage finishes later than in the past, around 7pm, and will be over the full circuit of the Champs Élysées, turning around the Arc de Triomphe. • This article was amended on 4 July 2014 to remove references to Cadel Evans, who is not taking part in this year's Tour de France . This article was also amended because an earlier version said that the derailed-chain episode on the Balès which lost Andy Schleck the 2010 Tour happened in 2011.

Yorkshire to host Tour de France 2014 start | Cyclingnews.com Yorkshire to host Tour de France 2014 start Tour returns to United Kingdom for first time since 2007 1 / 1 Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) seals victory in the Tour de France with a commanding ride in the final time trial (Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) The 2014 Tour de France will start in Yorkshire, England, race organizers ASO announced on Friday. Related Articles It will be the first time that the Tour has started in the United Kingdom since 2007, and its first visit to Yorkshire. Other cities in the running to host the Grand Depart were Edinburgh, Scotland, and Florence, Italy. Yorkshire will host the first two days racing on the 5th and 6th July before the Tour heads south for a third stage in southern England, with a finish in London. Leeds will be the host city of the Grand Depart and will hold a festival of cycling and the arts to coincide with the arrival of the Tour. Full details of the stages will be revealed at a joint news conference in Leeds and Paris on 17 January.

Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France Director visited Yorkshire several times and has seen how cycling has grown since the Tour started in London. “Since the resounding success of the Grand Départ in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom. Bradley Wiggins’ historical victory last July and the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned," he said in a statement issued by the Yorkshire organisers. "Yorkshire is a region of outstanding beauty, with breathtaking landscapes whose terrains offer both sprinters and attackers the opportunity to express themselves. We have encountered a phenomenal desire from the Yorkshire team to welcome the Tour de France and have no doubt that passion and support will be particularly evident for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2014.” Yorkshire fought hard to secure the Tour de France Grand Depart, publicizing their bid in Britain and France during this year's race and then outbidding their rivals with a financial offer close to four million pounds.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the agency behind the county’s bid, said: "Today is a proud day for everyone involved in the bid and the county as a whole. We are honoured that the race organisers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), have selected Yorkshire to be the host location of the 2014 Grand Départ." Yorkshire is one of the traditional centres of cycling in Britain. Eight-time Tour de France stage winner Barry Hoban is from Wakefield, while Malcolm Elliot is from Sheffield. Current Yorkshire-born pro riders include Ben Swift (Team Sky), Russell Downing (NetApp-Endura) and track Olympian Ed Clancy. Leeds hosted the Leeds International Classic one-day race between 1994 and 1996, which was part of the UCI World Cup series. Max Sciandri won the race in 1995. Grand Départ 2014 - Yorkshire - Tour de France 2013 Chief Executive, Welcome to Yorkshire Proud and delighted The people of Yorkshire are proud and delighted to welcome the world’s greatest cycle race to one of the most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom.

We are honoured to have been chosen to stage the Grand Départ of the 2014 Tour de France and we are confi dent that the riders will fi nd our spectacular scenery both challenging and exhilarating. Their route will take them through some of our great and historic cities, including the Roman walled city of York, Leeds - the UK’s second biggest fi nancial centre, the stunning cathedral city of Ripon, and Sheffi eld, which is fast becoming known as one of Europe’s great sporting cities. They’ll wind through the glorious Yorkshire Dales National Park into the quintessential English market town of Harrogate before experiencing the dramatic rise and fall of the Pennines around Brontë country. We believe they will fi nd the route simply breathtaking. Yorkshire and cycling go hand-in-hand. The county is widely regarded as one of the spiritual heartlands of UK cycling producing trailblazing talent like Brian Robinson, the fi rst British rider to win a stage of the Tour de France, Barry Hoban a winner of 8 stages of the Tour de France and Malcolm Elliott the fi rst British rider to win a Grand Tour points jersey.

Its landscape continues to inspire a new generation of star cyclists today, but it’s for the warmth of our welcome that the people of Yorkshire are best known. We love to meet new people and to make them feel at home in the place which has the nickname of God’s Own County. We know that the millions of Yorkshire men, women and children who turn out to cheer on the riders as they pass through our city streets and country lanes will give the Tour de France the warmest welcome ever. ...And there is no doubt that this enthusiasm will go from strength to strength during the third part of the Tour’s time in Britain. This stage three will link up two iconic cities: Cambridge, the renowned university town, and London, the capital, the site of a memorable Grand Départ in 2007 and of course the venue for the fantastic Olympic Games in 2012. Christian PRUDHOMME Director of the Tour de France Quality and enthusiasm guaranteed Unforgettable. That’s the word that springs to mind when I think about the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in London back in 2007, the first ever organised in Great Britain.

We hope and trust that the 2014 Grand Départ will be just as spectacular: this is my wish, and I don’t think I need to worry, as it seems very likely to come true given how impressed we were with the passion and desire of our friends from Yorkshire ever since we fi rst met. At that time, we were considering a return to the UK for the Tour in 2016- 2017. That was before British cycling’s golden summer. Bradley Wiggins’ historic victory in the Tour de France combined with the phenomenal success of the cycling events during the Olympic Games convinced us that we should come back earlier and, to tell the truth, as quickly as possible. But if Yorkshire has earned the right to welcome the Tour, it only has itself to thank. Thanks to the quality of the facilities, infrastructure and sites it can offer us. Thanks to the stunning landscape, which will be introduced to the whole world as they follow the race on TV, in all fi ve continents. Thanks to its roads, which offer a variety of terrains, perfect for sprinters as well as puncheurs.

Thanks to its cycling heritage, the achievements of pioneers, led by Brian Robinson, since the late 1950s. Thanks to the choice of a modern-day champion, who is still a contender, Mark Cavendish, as ambassador, refl ecting a thriving, unashamedly forward-thinking discipline. We are already foreseeing a huge event with massive popular support: in Leeds, where the Tour will begin, in Harrogate, in York, in Sheffi eld and throughout the region. And the enthusiasm is bound to continue further south, in the third stage that will take the cyclists from the prestigious city of Cambridge to London, the capital. Seven years on, the Tour will return to The Mall for its royal arrival in front of Buckingham Palace. And after a week of passion and three crucial stages, there will only be one word in our minds: unforgettable. Wiggins and Cavendish of course, but let’s not forget Robinson as well Sunday 22nd July 2012, a day to remember. God Save the Queen rings out down the Champs-Élysées to celebrate the first win by a British cyclist in the Tour de France.

Bradley Wiggins in the yellow jersey is even sharing the podium with one of his compatriots, his teammate Christopher Froome who finished in second place. Fifty years earlier, in 1962, the first cyclist from the UK to wear that famous item of clothing was called Tom Simpson, a man who would later be imitated by Chris Boardman, Sean Yates and David Millar. When it comes to the 51 stage wins by Brits, it is without a doubt Mark Cavendish who takes the lion’s share, with 23, followed by Barry Hoban (8), David Millar (4), Michael Wright, Robert Millar and Chris Boardman (3), Bradley Wiggins (2), Sean Yates, Maximilian Sciandri and Christopher Froome (1). And if we want to know who led the way by being the first to win two stages, first in 1958 and then in 1959, it was Brian Robinson who, like Hoban, was from Yorkshire.

Yorkshire - going from strength to strength Yorkshire is perhaps best known around the world for the wild and windy moors made famous by the nineteenth century novels of the Bronte sisters, but modern day Yorkshire is making its name for much more than that. Just two hours north of London by train we are a country within a country - with seven great cities, each with a distinctive character, and each situated within minutes of amazing countryside - the rolling Yorkshire Dales, the breathtaking North York Moors, the Pennine hills, and our impressive North Sea coastline. Leeds is a bustling centre for financial services, while its neighbour Bradford has the distinction of being a UNESCO city of film. The port of Hull in the east is a key trade route and a gateway to visitors from the rest of Europe. Recent years have seen tourism in Yorkshire grow faster than anywhere else in the UK. Visitors come to enjoy our history and heritage in places like York or our great country houses and castles, and we are becoming an internationally renowned centre for sculpture, with the Hepworth Gallery at Wakefield, the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Sport is another magnet bringing new visitors.

Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre is already seen worldwide as the home of snooker and recent years have seen international diving, fencing, figure skating and mountain biking in Yorkshire. The Grand Départ will once again focus the eyes of the world on this thriving and beautiful part of the UK. After its time in Yorkshire, the Tour de France peloton will be heading for Cambridge, the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. Internationally renowned for its university, which dates back to the 13th century, with its thirty-one colleges, it is now also at the heart of a cluster of cuttingedge high-tech companies, nicknamed the Silicon Fen as a nod to California’s Silicon Valley. As for London, the British capital hardly needs any introduction. It is one of the world’s leading cities, thanks in no small part to its economic power and cultural reputation. Its museums and iconic monuments include the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, which pull in more than twenty-five million tourists every year.

In the north-east of England, where it is the biggest historic county, Yorkshire covers some 15,000 km2 and is subdivided into four counties: East, North, West and South. It is home to five million people, 752,000 of whom live in Leeds, the area’s biggest city. Harrogate has 73,000 inhabitants, York has 198,000 and Sheffield has 555,000. For its part, Cambridge, the administrative centre of the county, has 110,000 inhabitants. As for London, the capital of the United Kingdom has some three million inhabitants, or seven million for Greater London. Access By plane : Leeds Bradford airport 15km from the city centre or Manchester airport, 70km away By train : from Paris to London by Eurostar.

Regular trains between London and Yorkshire’s main cities By road : 780km from Paris to Leeds by motorway Time difference 12h00 in the United Kingdom = 13h00 in France Dates for your diary Wednesday 2nd July: opening of the reception office and press centre in Wellington Place Thursday 3rd July: presentation of the 2014 Tour de France teams at Leeds Arena Saturday 5th July: first stage, Leeds Harrogate, 190 km Sunday 6th July: second stage, York Sheffield, 200 km Monday 7th July: third stage, Cambridge London, 170 km Leeds / Harrogate 190km The 101st running of the Tour de France will begin outside the 19th century Town Hall in the heart of historic Leeds. From the steps of the concert venue the riders will head northwest out of the city centre and into the Yorkshire countryside. They will pass Harewood House, home of the Lascelles family for over 250 years, before they head to Skipton, gateway to the spectacular Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Up to this point the route is fairly fl at, but once they enter the iconic Dales the terrain gets steeper as the riders race a semi-circular route across the contours of the valleys. They leave at the north east edge of the National Park sweeping southeast through Leyburn and the cathedral city of Ripon, rejoining the flat roads to the pretty spa town of Harrogate. It is here at the end of a long straight line fi nish that we will discover who will be the fi rst rider to wear the famous yellow jersey of the 2014 Tour de France. York / Sheffield 200km A stunning walled city brimming with history, York is the venue for the start of stage two. After starting at Clifford’s Tower the peloton will head west passing through Harrogate once again before turning south and heading to Huddersfield via Haworth, home of literary sisters, the Brontës. From here the cyclists will be able to stretch their legs on a number of steep sections before they arrive at the gateway to another National Park, the Peak District, on the edge of the Pennines.

The slopes start to get steeper here especially the stretch leading to Holme Moss, renowned as one of the toughest climbs in the whole of Great Britain. There are still a few hills to cross before the cyclists arrive in the UK’s first city of sport Sheffield. The last hill climb of the day is less than five kilometres from the finish in the northeast of the city next to the Don Valley Stadium. Cambridge / Londres 170km The famous university city provides the stunning setting for the beginning of the third chapter of the Grand Départ. This stage is mainly fl at and will take the cyclists south on the roads of Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. The race arrives in Greater London from the northeast, via Epping Forest.

Once it has passed the Olympic Park, it will head for the centre of the British capital for its fi nale against a background of picture postcard scenes including the Thames, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey… As with the prologue of the Tour de France in 2007 and the 2012 Olympic cycle road races, the final stretch will take the competitors through St James’s Park, in front of Buckingham Palace for a spectacular fi nish on The Mall. When does Tour de France 2014 start? Race preview, where to watch it and everything you need to know as Chris Froome defends title | The Independent Cycling When does Tour de France 2014 start? Race preview, where to watch it and everything you need to know as Chris Froome defends title A look ahead to the 2014 Tour de France, which starts in the United Kingdom for only the second time Wednesday 2 July 2014 15:17 BST Click to follow Chris Froome wins historic 100th Tour de France AP When does it begin?

For only the second time in its 111-year history, the Tour de France will kick off on British soil when Leeds plays host to the Grand Départ on Saturday, 5 July. Unusually, this year’s race begins with a road stage rather than a prologue, giving an opportunity for Mark Cavendish or his great German rival Marcel Kittel to slip into the leader’s yellow jersey. And were Cavendish to require any extra motivation, his mother used to live in Harrogate - within spitting distance of the first stage finish. Where can I watch it in the UK? For a glimpse of the riders before the race even begins, head to Victoria Gardens in Leeds town centre, where the teams will be signing in on the morning of the Grand Départ. Of the three British-based stages, the second from York to Sheffield should provide the most scenic delights. The 201 kilometres cross the Pennines and take in some of this country’s most iconic hills. The climb of Holme Moss in particular is expected to attract thousands of people- but the stage will be decided atop the brutally steep Jenkin Road, where you will be able to see the likes of Slovak powerhouse Peter Sagan in full flow.

The best vantage point for Stage 3 is obvious- the finish is on The Mall in London, as it was the first and last time the Tour visited Britain back in 2007. The long drag up to Buckingham Palace was also the site of the finish to the 2012 Olympic Road Race, when the Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov spoiled Mark Cavendish’s party with a hugely unpopular victory. What are the key stages? The favourites for the yellow jersey will have been having recurring nightmares about Stage 5. That’s because it features cobbles- many of the same sections used in the Spring Classic Paris-Roubaix, otherwise known as the ‘Hell of the North,’ which can end a contender’s race in an instant. Stage 10 is the first major mountain test- and it ends at La Planche des Belles Filles, the site of Chris Froome’s maiden Tour win in 2012. On its way from Mulhouse, the stage passes over the Petit Ballon- the very first mountain ever used in the Tour de France.

If the yellow jersey contenders have not been separated by the Alps and Pyrenees, then Stage 20’s 54 kilometre time-trial to Bergerac will be crucial. Where can defending champion Chris Froome win it and lose it? A rider of Froome’s build will have to watch out for those cobbles - in 2010, they ended the Luxembourger Frank Schleck’s race via a broken collarbone. The defending champion will relish the ‘Queen Stage’ that takes in the legendary climb of the Tourmalet before a summit finish atop Hautacam, the scene of many memorable Tour battles over the years. And with Alberto Contador in ominous form, Froome will be grateful for the length of the Stage 20 time-trial which suits his abilities better than the Spaniard’s. Who are the main contenders? Froome is the undoubted favourite, despite a patchy season thus far. But Contador is not far behind- he was superior to the Briton at the Dauphiné-Libéré warm-up race in June.

Alberto Contador (in the yellow) is tipped to pose the biggest threat to Froome(in green) Behind those two sit a group of riders surrounded by uncertainty. Alejandro Valverde will head the powerful Movistar team’s challenge and will expect a podium place. However he has never won the Tour and Froome may be thankful that his teammate, the diminutive Colombian climber Nairo Quintana is not riding after winning the Giro d’Italia in May. Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha who finished third last year will ride for stage wins rather than overall glory this time around, after an injury-disrupted season. Who could surprise the front-runners? Perhaps this may be the year the French finally produce at their own race. The 2013 race was a Gallic annus horribilis saved only by Christophe Riblon’s memorable win on Alpe d’Huez, but in 2014 home prospects look brighter. Pierre Rolland performed strongly at the Giro d’Italia to finish 4- the highest Grand Tour placing by a French rider in 3 years- whilst the youthful Romain Bardet turned in a series of strong performances at the Dauphiné.

French cyclist Pierre Rolland For an American surprise of the nice rather than Lance Armstrong-flavoured kind, look to Garmin-Sharp’s Andrew Talansky. The man nicknamed ‘Pitbull’ by his team manager Jonathan Vaughters finished 10 last year, and returns in 2014 with a team fully committed to riding for him in the mountains. If it's a British outside bet you're after, look no further than Orica-GreenEdge’s Simon Yates. The first-year pro was a late inclusion in the Australian squad- but the steep hills of Stage 2 into Sheffield should suit his talents well.

Question: In which city will the 2014 Tour de France begin?
Answer: LEEDS